Blind Romanian climbers reach Aconcagua summit

Blind climber Alex Benchea and partner Răzvan Nedu, who has just 1% vision, managed to climb Aconcagua (6962 m), the highest mountain in the Americas. Their ascent is a first for Romania.

"After the successes on the mountains Kilimanjaro (2019) and Elbrus (2021), Alex and Răzvan took the tricolor on the roof of South America for the first time for Romania, Aconcagua thus becoming the third peak conquered from the 7 summits project - the climbing of the highest 7 peaks of the 7 continents of the world," reads the press release.

The two Romanian athletes of the National Paraclimbing Team were accompanied by climbers Teofil Vlad and Anca Mihuțescu and the Argentinian guide Pablo Tapia.

They followed the route called Aconcagua 360 to climb the mountain, starting from the Plaza de Argentina base camp (4200 m). Then, they descended on the other side of the mountain through Plaza de Mullas (4300 m). To achieve proper acclimatization, the team climbed the mountain slowly, setting up their camps at increasing altitudes (4900 m, 5400 m and 5900 m) and returning twice to the Plaza de Argentina base camp.

"We set off for the summit on December 17 at 5 in the morning. The forecast wind was 50 km/h and the temperature was -31 degrees C. Around 3:30 PM, after more than 10 hours, we all reached the top, and at 4 PM, we started the descent," Teofil Vlad said.

In his turn, Alex Benchea said: "It was the longest and most complex climb to date, and the 360 circuit required more logistics and preparation. […] For me, the most difficult moments were between camp 1 and camp 2 where I struggled with respiratory failure, the cold on the summit day, and then the descent. Now, in the end, I can say that I don't think the peak itself matters, but having a goal, a goal that helps you evolve in life."

Alex Benchea is 23 years old and a student at the Faculty of Geography in Cluj-Napoca. He was born blind and is called "the mountaineer with white eyes." In 2019, he became the first blind climber from Romania to conquer Mount Kilimanjaro (5895 m), the highest mountain in Africa.

"The day of the summit was the hardest. I felt like I couldn't make it through those last few meters in one piece. I was stumbling at every step. The other climbers, who came there from all over the world, encouraged and applauded us, but I kept stopping, losing my breath, searching for air. I knew it took small steps and planning," Răzvan Nedu also recalled.

Nedu is 25 years old and is the captain of the National Paraclimbing Team, world vice-champion in paraclimbing, and climbing instructor at the Climb Again Center.

Climb Again developed the first climbing therapy center in Europe in Bucharest 4 years ago and coordinates the National Paraclimbing Team of Romania and, starting in 2023, the National Junior Paraclimbing Team. In 2022, the team's 11 blind, visually impaired and locomotor impaired athletes won 17 medals at international paraclimbing competitions.